The manual doffing of a textile machine such as a roving frame producing a large number of spaced strand packages requires repetitive motions in removing one package after another with placement of each package in a cart. This task of mill personnel known as doffers is so onerous that many attempts have been made to automate the doffing phase of producing roving packages from sliver strands.
Because of the stationary positioning of the flyers above the traversing spindle rail it is difficult to doff a roving frame from the front. An attempt to automate roving frame operation is exemplified by the roving frame illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 4,757,679 wherein full bobbins are doffed from a forwardly tilted position all at one time on a conveyor which thereafter manipulates them onto a doffing carriage. In a reverse operation empty bobbins are then placed on the spindles.
Another attempt to automate roving frame operation is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 4,934,132 wherein a conveyor is positioned in front of a roving frame to receive full bobbins and replace with empty bobbins upon a support which is moved forwardly into vertical alignment with the vertically movable conveyor.
Heretofore, it is necessary to stop the roving frame upon the occurrence of ends down or a faulty roving. This is because such roving machines have a common drive for all spindles and flyers. This practice results in excessive bobbin down time.
Accordingly, it is an important object of the present invention to facilitate automatic doffing by utilizing the spindle rail to doff directly upon a transport conveyor which can also supply empty bobbins automatically to the spindles.
Another important object of the invention is the provision of independent motor drives to each spindle or as a group carried on the rail independently of any other mechanical connection.
Another object of the invention is the provision of a method of doffing and replacement of roving bobbins utilizing indexing of a transport conveyor and raising and lowering of the rail.
Another object of the invention is the provision of a conveyor utilizing an endless belt with longitudinally spaced transverse doffing brackets with apparatus for automatically loading and unloading bobbins.
Another object of the invention is the provision of a control for individual spindles to avoid down time which occurs when every delivery is deactivated as a result of a faulty roving strand.
Another object of the invention is the provision of a novel roving bobbin which may be suspended from a tip.
Still another object of the invention is the provision of a novel spindle upon which the bobbins are self seating.